Puppy First Postnatal stage

I guess by now you are already aware of the fact that not all puppies are born alive, not even in a perfectly normal birth. The official death rate is around 15% in medium-size breeds, although it does go up in toy, small and giant sized breeds (between 25 and 35%). I've also explained how in many cases it is necessary to sacrifice a newborn, due to the serious anomalies that they present, which could seriously affect their quality of life, causing suffering and pain in most cases. It is also important to reflect on the death rate in perfectly healthy individual members of also apparently healthy litters. The figures vary a lot, but it is around 12 to 33%. These deaths take place anywhere between birth and the third week of life. So, as you can see, the death rate in puppies is very high, and it's not fair to simply blame such deaths on bad luck.

When we talk about problems that lead to death during birth or even before, these can be related to the dubious reproductive quality of the mother; in fact many deaths would be avoided if there weren't any difficulties during birth, which is why it is important to carefully select the reproductive mother. It also helps to avoid any risk during pregnancy.

However -- and this is what is really serious -- when you look at the deaths that take place in between the first day and the third or fourth week of life, you will see that the figures are astonishing. 30% of these deaths are due to inappropriate conditions for the mother and puppies (lack of hygiene, bad nutrition, etc.); another 30% to the transmission of diseases which are almost always fatal (canine herpesvirus, bacterial infections, eclampsia, etc.); 25% to accidents (crushing, hypothermia, etc.); and only 50% due to causes related to the mother (lack of attention, cannibalism, etc.). So, if you add up to three main clauses of postnatal premature death, you have an 85% that is total responsibility of the owner or breeder!

I think you're getting the picture now: being a breeder demands a lot of time and sacrifice if you want to do it well. You must not forget that puppies are born in a very premature state; then he can not see or hear; they're not capable of regulating their own body temperature, nor can they eliminate urine and feces by themselves and they're unable of surviving without help.